Leave
on a sightseeing tour of Colombo with your own private tour guide
driving through the Commercial area of the 'Fort' so named,
because both the Portuguese and Dutch had a fort at this point.
Drive past 'Pettah' - a noisy Oriental bazaar with a hotchpotch of
humanity, ancient vehicles, bargains, mosques and temples. Visit a
Hindu and Buddhist temple and the Jumi-ul Alfar Jumma Mosque.
Continue the tour through the Wolvendhal Dutch Church and
Hultsdorf Law Courts, then the residential area of Cinnamon
Gardens which was an important cinnamon-growing region during the
Dutch period. From here you proceed on to the Independence Square,
the Convention Center (BMICH) and the National Museum.